


The Reason Behind the Strained Relationship Between the Dwarf King and the Crown Prince

by mjeanuniverse



Series: The King and the Crown Prince [1]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Explicit Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-03
Updated: 2015-05-03
Packaged: 2018-03-28 21:03:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3869704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mjeanuniverse/pseuds/mjeanuniverse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bilbo has observed the stark difference between how the dwarf king, Thorin, treats his blonde nephew, Fili, versus the dark haired one, Kili.  Before he can get a chance to voice his questions, ever vigilant, Balin, sequesters Bilbo away from the other members of the company.  Balin is caught off guard at just how much Bilbo has picked up over the course of the quest and gets pushed into a position where he feels compelled to explain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Reason Behind the Strained Relationship Between the Dwarf King and the Crown Prince

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ItsFili](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsFili/gifts).



> As I watched the Hobbit movies, I pondered the possible reasons why Thorin is so cold and seemingly uncaring towards Fili, but so warm and touchy/feely with Kili. This is a little one-shot that goes through one possible scenario for the differences in the uncle/nephews interpersonal relationships. I have several other scenarios pinging around my head, and I will try to get them written and posted soon.

Balin, eldest son of Fundin, notices the little hobbit, Master Bilbo Baggins, a Baggins of Bag End, and a perfectly respectable hobbit in every way, well aside from the fact that the little fellow chose to embark on an adventure with thirteen dwarves, none of whom he had never set eyes on before to go traipsing to the other side of Middle Earth from his home in the Shire, but still, a kind and gentle soul with no experience of the troubles, trials, and dangers of the greater world, puzzling over something again. The dwarf with the long white flowing beard can guess what Bilbo is trying to figure out. It is not like the Halfling can contain his emotions. No, he wears his thoughts and feelings on his sleeve and his face for all and asundry to see. 

NOW, the hobbit is staring alternatively from the would be King Under the Mountain, IF Mahal blesses them and they are actually successful with this little adventure, Thorin, son of Thrain, grandson of Thror, to Fili, the blonde crown prince and Thorin’s heir, son of Dis, grandson of Thrain, great-grandson of Thror to Kili, the dark haired brother of Fili, the second heir, son of Dis, grandson of Thrain, great-grandson of Thror in a continuous cycle. Balin is sure that Bilbo has noticed something off in the relationship between the three, but it is a subject NONE of the dwarves would DARE speak aloud about to each other. Actually, the stress and strain is between King, Thorin, and his heir, crown prince Fili with Balin’s own brother, the second son of Fundin, Dwalin, thrown in, just for good measure. King Thorin’s oldest advisor sighs and can see that Bilbo is about to start asking questions in the innocent way only a hobbit can. Balin taps the Halfling on the shoulder and jerks his chin the direction AWAY from where the other dwarves are settling down for the night.

‘I have first watch, would you mind keeping an old dwarf company as today’s events were trying for all of us, and I am bone weary and could use the help in staying alert. Would you mind?’ Balin asks Bilbo quietly, knowing that the polite manners ingrained within the hobbit would not allow Bilbo to refuse such a request.

‘Ah…of course, Master Balin?’ Bilbo answers Balin’s question with a hesitant, questioning tone, but the hobbit does NOT refuse the old dwarf. ‘Uhm, if you think I could be of use, of course.’ Bilbo answers in a much firmer voice, his bright smile show Balin just how pleased the Halfling is to be asked to help. 

 

The trying events of the day Balin had referred to revolve around the constant rainstorms that the company has been forced to travel in for days on end, a rain swollen river that had been turned into a roiling, raging torrent, and Myrtle, the chestnut pack pony for Bilbo favored so. When the pony had spooked at only Mahal know what and had bolted straight into the river, the ever reckless Kili had jumped headlong in the river to retrieve the beast. More like thoughtless and brainless, Balin thinks and sometimes the youth also displays a pettiness and mean-spiritedness that is downright worrisome if, Mahal forbid, the archer should EVER become king, but his uncle Thorin is ever indulgent when it comes to his dark haired nephew and cannot see the lad’s faults, blatant as they are. 

After seeing his brother jump into the swirling current, the blonde Fili had plunged in as well. Only he had the misfortune of landing in a much deeper section of the river as the lad was swept under the surface and out of sight immediately. Thorin had seen Kili go into the water as his dark haired sister son was in shallower water by the river’s edge and only thigh deep in the river. Maybe the lad was standing on a submerged rock, but the king had NOT seen his blonde nephew go into water and vanish from sight as his eyes were glued on Kili. 

The entire company had watched aghast as Thorin had scrambled to grab the lad’s arm just as the undercurrent knocked Kili off his feet. With a tenuous hold on Kili’s outer coat, the king bellowed for help as Kili’s head went under the water momentarily. Thorin had been confused when most of the company had rushed further down the riverbank instead of helping him fish out his beloved nephew. 

‘’Where are you going?’ he had roared in fury. The brothers Ri and Ur had froze at the commanding tone of their king’s voice and had turned to help with Kili. The Durin cousins had paused for a moment, all except Dwalin who had not even paused for a spilt second in his pursuit of Fili as he was swept down river. 

When the blonde head popped to the surface, Gloin had to physically restrain Dwalin from also diving headlong into the river. Damn fool, Balin had thought at the time. Nothing turns his fearsome but normally level headed brother, Dwalin, into a fool like the golden haired crown prince. 

‘The rope, throw the rope downstream so that Fili can grab it as he passes!’ Balin had howled to Oin. Sending a small prayer to Mahal that Oin ACTUALLY heard him, Balin had watched as Fili had barely managed to grasp the hemp line as his body was hurdled along in the roiling current, but snag it he had and he had been hauled to safety. 

Dwalin had been the first to get to the blonde, of course, and had lifted him bodily out of the water and into a crushing embrace.

‘Thank Mahal, what were you THINKING, lad jumping in like that?!’ The youngest son of Fundin had demanded while clutching Fili to his massive chest. 

‘Kkkkk…Kili went in. I had to go in after him.’ Fili had replied with teeth chattering from being submerged in the freezing water for the past several minutes. 

‘Just because that fool rushes headlong into danger does NOT mean you should!’ Dwalin had snarled. 

‘I have to protect Kili. Uncle Thorin would kill me should something happen to Kili.’ Fili had answered morosely in a small voice his face pushed into Dwalin’s neck. Dwalin had gazed pleadingly at Balin in a silent request to inform the lad of the truth, to finally reveal why his uncle treated him so differently than his dark haired brother. 

The coldness and distance with which Thorin treated Fili in addition to heaping on the responsivities and strain of being the future king was crushing the boy. Then he had to endure in silence having to witness the love and tenderness with which Thorin lavished on his younger brother. The boy did not even know WHY. It would not make it hurt less, but it could possibly make the pain easier to bear if Fili knew the whole truth. Balin had given his brother a slight shake of the head in answer to his request. Not now. They could not tell Fili yet.

Dwalin’s eyes had hardened, but he had held his tongue and simply pulled Fili off his feet and up into his arms. Dwalin had toted the lad all the way back to where Thorin and the others were setting up camp with a large fire to warm the youngest of their company. 

Balin had sighed heavily at the time, and he sighs heavily again sitting next to Bilbo as they puff on their pipes. This Long Bottom leaf is really quite superior to anything he had ever smoked before the old dwarf thinks. 

When the question comes, it surprises Balin in its directness. ‘Why does Thorin act as if Fili has constantly done something wrong? The lad seems to strive to please the king, but cannot. Then there is Kili. I must say, the lad seems to blunder at every turn, but Thorin never takes him to task, only praises him for his effort. It makes no sense to me, frankly. To see one nephew treated so coldly and the other with such warmth is disquieting to say the least. ’ 

Balin opens his mouth to deny the bold charges leveled at the leader of their company, but he clamps his mouth closed to gather his thoughts instead. The hobbit obviously is a much more shrewd observer than Balin had thought possible. Talk about hitting a nail on its head. 

Bilbo puffs on his pipe and does not turn to look at Balin, but he makes no further comment, opting instead to wait the old dwarf out. 

‘It is a long story, my dear hobbit.’ Balin finally answers in a vain hope to dissuade Bilbo from pursuing the matter further.

‘We have half the night and a full pouch of leaf, so please carry on.’ Bilbo sniffs. Out of a mulishness he did not think he possessed, Balin pauses for a moment, but what the hell? If Bilbo starts asking these questions to the others, there will be nothing but trouble so the white haired dwarf takes the pouch to refill his own pipe and starts the tale. 

‘This is a dear secret I am about to tell you, Bilbo. You can repeat nothing I say here tonight, but it is the truth and one day, when we retake Erebor, it will be revealed.’ Bilbo stares open mouthed at Balin and nods his head in agreement to the terms, and Balin continues.

‘First, one of the lads is not Thorin’s nephew, but his son.’ If Bilbo had been open mouthed before, he is absolutely slack jawed as he gapes at Balin. 

‘Kili is Thorin’s son with his SISTER?!’ Bilbo hisses in disgust and outrage. The hobbit can now understand why the fuck THAT is a secret. 

‘No, no, Kili is Thorin’s sister Dis’ son, but Thorin is NOT Kili’s father. ‘ Balin sighs in resignation. That stops Bilbo’s fretting short, and the hobbit blinks at Balin in surprise. 

‘Fili is Thorin’s SON?’ Bilbo demands in the same outraged tone. ‘He treats his own SON as if the boy matters for naught?’ 

‘It’s complicated, Bilbo. Thorin is an unforgiving dwarf who can hold a grudge for centuries. And Fili does NOT know he is Thorin’s offspring. The lad thinks he is a son of Dis and brother of Kili. He is neither.’ When Balin stops and looks for all the world like he will not continue, Bilbo prods fiercely. 

‘Well why the fuck is THAT? I mean, why?’ Bilbo is embarrassed that he had used such profane language, but really, why would this be ok with the dwarves. 

Balin sighs again, not wanting to continue as it will reflect poorly on Thorin, but the king’s actions are his own and if others fault him for them, he only has himself to blame really. 

‘Fili’s mother, Feyla, was a beautiful, strong, noble dwarrowdam. Truly she was spectacular to behold with her blonde hair and could she sing? Law, she would sing when Thorin played his harp, it was so lovely. The pair had not been formally wed as we were wandering the wilds in those days and such formalities had fallen by the wayside out of necessity. They were bonded, just not many folks knew. Then the battle of Azanulbizar came and claimed so many, so very, very many. 

Fearing Thorin dead, Feyla went into labor early with little Fili. She never rose from the childbirthing bed. Dis’s own lover, Kilis, had been slain in battle at Azanulbizar. They were also not formally wed, but she too was pregnant. When her child was stillborn, she took Fili to her breast to keep the last of the line of Durin alive. Fili thrived. It was looked as if there was a silver lining to the dark, dark cloud, but Thorin did not see it that way.

When he returned to find his beloved Feyla dead and a tiny rut of a son alive, Thorin was beyond furious. Fili, he was so wee, as he came a month early in the freezing cold of the wild, underfeed as newborn. It is miracle he survived, but all Thorin could think was the little babe had killed his beloved. He never bonded with Fili, never claimed him as his son, and even tried to have Dis abandon the babe in the wilds. Thank Mahal, she refused and raised Fili as her own. 

When we finally settled in the Blue Mountain, she immediately wed Vorn, the dwarf who would later father Kili. Vorn was a good dwarf, a kind and loving father to his adopted son, Fili and to his own son, Kili. By the time Kili was born, Thorin had mellowed slightly from his bitterness following the death of Feyla, but he could never get over that Fili lived and Feyla had not. But Kili was his little sister’s son, nothing to do with Feyla and her death so he doted on him. Always has. 

Fili is already Thorin’s heir by birthright as he is the oldest, but in case, there is ever a challenge to his right to rule, I, with the council’s blessing, sent a raven to the Iron Hills decades ago outlining Fili’s heritage to Dain so that another son of Durin outside Ered Luin knows the truth.’ 

Pausing to inhale deeply, Balin hangs his head a little. He is slightly ashamed of Thorin’s behavior towards his own son. Who was he kidding, he was deeply ashamed of his king’s behavior, but pettiness and stubbornness runs deep in the Durin line, and Thorin could NOT, would NOT get over his feelings of anger towards Fili. They show themselves every day in word and deed. 

‘So Fili is Thorin’s son who Thorin has, for all intents and purposes, disowned and no else knows that except for you, a handful of dwarves in Ered Luin, and Dain. So how does your brother fit into this? Obviously, Kili takes it as his due that he can do no wrong and Fili can do no right, and no one dares to challenge Thorin EXCEPT Dwalin. Why is that?’ Again, the boldness and blasted accuracy of the questions and statements from the hobbit startles Balin. Shit, he will have to go into THAT as well? 

‘Uhm…well, that is, another thing all together.’ 

‘Which is?’ Bilbo hums 

Cutting his eyes to the side to gauge Bilbo’s resolve in this, Balin finds the same stubborn look on Bilbo’s face as before. Well, nothing left for it then. Let’s just tell all the secrets shall we Balin thinks sourly, but he ploughs ahead. 

‘Ah- what it is ….’ Balin falters for a moment but regroups to try again. ‘You see, Dwalin, my brother…. he and Fili….’ No he cannot say the words. What would a naïve little fellow like Bilbo think about THAT?

‘Are they lovers? They act like lovers. Discreet, mind you, but I have watched them, and they seem to really care for each other. A lot. A whole lot.’ 

‘Why the fuck did you ask then, if you already figured it out?’ demanded Balin peevishly. Did he just say fuck? Blushing a little, Balin apologizes to Bilbo for the foul language, but honestly, if the hobbit already KNEW why did he insist on voicing his suspicions aloud? 

‘I just wanted to be sure, that’s all.’ Bilbo answers serenely. 

 

‘By Durin’s beard, DO NOT tell Thorin. He will nut up. He expects Fili to wed and produce dwarfllings once Erebor is secured. And Kili? He is slightly homophobic judging from some of his past comments. And the lad so looks up to Dwalin. Dwalin gets quite a kick out of overt physical contact with Kili, knowing all the while Kili would nut up if he knew Dwalin preferred dwarrows to dwarrowdams and is currently engaged in carnal relations with his BROTHER.’ Balin glares at the hobbit. 

‘Now that you know two of the dearest secrets I have to keep secure, how about you divulge a secret or two of your own to me, my good hobbit.’ 

‘I also prefer males to females. And I have a crush on Thorin. Do you think he could ever go for someone like me? Mayhap, I could help see him see the error of his ways with his son?’ Bilbo asks. Balin almost swallows his pipe in both surprise and abject horror.

**Author's Note:**

> I read something on tumblr that made my heart clench at the thought that someone is having to suffer such ugly meanness. I wanted to let that person know that sometimes there is no good explanation for the meanness and ugliness of a few. My advise to that person is: Keep your chin up and believe in your own awesomeness. You and your work are respected and loved here.


End file.
